The underground has always lost their minds over Defeated Sanity for the better part of three decades. The band are revered for infusing old-school death metal with jazzy chaos and the technical precision of a classical composer. But when these four maniacs were thinking about their seventh album, the idea was to go easy on the brainteasers and get back to snapping necks.
Chronicles of Lunacy isn’t Defeated Sanity for dummies. Whether he’s hammering blast beats or springing between crash cymbals, founding member Lille Gruber never stops changing tempos during lead single “The Odour of Sanctity”. But this album does draw a jagged red line back to Defeated Sanity’s brutal origins. Its concept is wrapped up in all the twisted ways that delusional thinking warps our mind.
“Alienation gives birth to an unceasing hatred”, Josh Welshman growls from the pit of his gut, as long-time bassist Jacob Schmidt pounds the mix with gravity-defying slams.
To recapture the raw low-end of fan favorite Psalms of the Moribund, in January 2024, Defeated Sanity entered Thousand Cave Studios with producer Colin Marston. “Accelerate the Rot” now stands as the fastest ass-beater in their canon thanks to new guitarist Vaughn Stoffey, who’s eerie, pig squealing dissonance shreds like a rusty butcher knife.
On Chronicles of Lunacy, Defeated Sanity return to brutality.